Die holder



R. L GREENLEAF EVAL DIE HOLDER Aug. l2, 1941.

Filed June 18, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 WMG I )l H EN c /Z Tf www@ All@ l2# 1941- R. L. G-REENLEAF ETAL 2,252,484

'DIE HoLbER Filed-June 18, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Aug. 12, 1941 DKE HOLDER Rupert L. Greenleaf and Charles R. Dougherty, Auburn, Maine; said Dougherty assigner to said Greenleaf Application .lune 18, 1938, Serial No. 214,547

Claims. l(Cl. lill- 28) This invention relates to a die holder of the type employed for holding dies used for marking Vamps, quarters, foxings, tongues and other portions of shoes, and the present invention constitutes an improvement over that shown in our prior patent, No. 2,053,823.`

One object of the invention is to provide a die holder wherein a die-holding plate is mounted in a frame and improved means provided for adjusting the plate for accurate setting of the die carried thereby. Y

Another object of the invention is to provide adjusting means for the die-carrying plate which is mounted upon the frame and provided with means for engaging a plate, thus permitting a selected one of a number of plates to be :litted into the frame and the same means employed for adjusting each plate and holding it in a set position.

yIt is another object of the invention to so construct the adjusting means for the plate that it will include in its construction a mounting carried by the frame and a carriage slidable along said mounting, the carriage being provided with plate-engaging means and the mountingbeing provided with means for shifting the carriage along the mounting. It will thus be seen that, when it is desired to substitute one plate in place of another, it is merely necessary to move the plate-engaging member out of 'engagementwith the plate and the plate may then be easily withdrawn from the frame and another plate set in place.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of this character wherein the carriage carrying the plate-engaging member is formed with a threaded opening through which passes a threaded stem rotatably carried by the mounting and having a, turning knob at its outer end so that it vmay be easily turned to shift the oarriage along the mounting. It will thus be seen that a very accurate adjustment of the carriage and the plate may be obtained instead of its being necessary to shift the plate to predetermined positions oi adjustment andseoure it in an adjusted rposition by means of a pin or the like.

, Another object of the invention is to provide the carriage with a pointer extending in cooperating relation to a scale which is detachably secured to the mounting in order that a scale havingcoarse, medium or line scale markings may be provided and a scale easily removed and another substituted when necessary.

.carrier of a press.

Figure 6 is a view taken along the line 6 6 of Figure 3.

This improved die holder is for use in a press of a conventional construction, such as shown in our prior patent, No. 2,053,823, and referring to Figures 1 and 2, it will be seen that the die holder consists of a frame i having a back plate 2, to marginal portions of the under face of which are secured strips 3 and 4. The strip 3 which extends along the rear edge of the back plate constitutes an abutment strip for limiting shifting of the die plate 5 in one direction andthe strips 4 constitute tracks for guiding sliding movement of the die plate. The abutment strip 3 may be omitted if so desired and the depending pins 6 n.alone depended upon to limit rearward movement of the die plate. The usual latching strips l are provided and these latching strips which are formed of thin strips of resilient metal are pivoted to the back plate, as shown at 8, and at their free ends carry pins 9 which are adapted to engage in openings l@ formed through the back plate. There has also been provided the usual block ll which is secured to the back plate by the screws l2 and carry the threaded posts I3 upon which are mounted winged nuts I4 and serving to rmly secure the block to the block The structure so far described is the same as in our prior patent previously referredto. n

A die of the desired outline but not shown is secured against the under face of the die plate 5 in the usual manner and, if so desired, the'die plate 5 may have front and rear sections, the rear section being merely slid into the track li with its rear edge engaging the abutment strip 3 and abutment pins E and the front section of the plate being also slid into the tracks and shifted longitudinally of the tracks to a desired position. The means for shifting th-e die plate longitudinally of the tracks and securing the plate in an adjusted position is carried by the back plate 2 of the frame and mounted at the front of the frame midway the width thereof. The mounting I5 consists of a metal plate which extends longitudinally of the plate 2 of the frame with its forward end portion projecting beyond the back plate 2 and bent upwardly to form a flange I6 in which a slot I1 is formed to receive the neck I8 at the junction of a threaded stem I9 with its turning head or knob 26. Metal strips 2l formed with flanges 22 and constituting tracks extend along side edge portions of the base plate I5 where they are secured by rivets 23 which not only secure the track to the base plate but also pass through the back plate 2 and serve to firmly secure the mounting upon the back plate of the frame at one side of an opening 24 which is formed in the back plate so that the die-carrying plate 5 may be grasped with a thumb and nger of one hand and thus permit the die plate to be firmly grasped and easily extracted from the frame. A carriage or slide plate 25 extends longitudinally of the base plate with its side edge portions engaged under the flanges 22 of the track 2| and this slide plate or carriage is formed with an upstanding block 26 extending longitudinally thereof from its forward end and a rear post or block 21 extending upwardly from its rear end portion. The block 25 extends the full distance between the flanges of the tracks, as shown in Figure 4, and is bored to form a passage 21 having threaded walls for engagement with the threads of the stein i9. From an inspection of Figure 3, it will be readily seen that, when the stem is turned, engagement of its threads with the threaded walls of the passage will cause the carriage to be shifted longitudinally of the mounting. A socket 23 is drilled vertically through the block at one side of the threaded passage 2l and through the passage 23 is slidably mounted a plunger 29 having its lower portion reduced to form a pin 39 which passes through registering slots 3| and 32 formed in the mounting plate I5 and back plate 2 with its lower end protruding from the slot 32 for engagement through a small opening or perforation formed in the diecarrying plate 5. By reducing the diameter of the lower portion of the socket 28, as shown at 34, downward movement of the pin or plunger 29 will be limited, as shown clearly in Figures 4 and 5. At its upper end the plunger is provided with a head or knob 35 by means of which it may be grasped and drawn upwardly to move the lower end of the pin 3 out of the perforation 33, and at the junction of the head 35 with the plunger there has been formed a reduced neck 36 for engagement by the slotted free end portion of a leaf spring 31. This spring 31 extends longitudinally of the carriage and at its forward end is secured upon the post 21 by a screw 38. This spring applies downward pressure upon the plunger and yieldably holds the plunger in a depressed position in which its pin will be engaged through thek perforation of the die plate 5. A pointer 39 projects from one side of the block 23 and extends over a scale plate 4E? which is detachably secured upon one of the track bars 2| by thumb screws 4I. This plate has scale markings thereon, as shown in Figures l and 3, and since the plate is detachably secured it will be evident that a number of scale plates may be vprovided with different scales thereon and the accurate setting of the carriage and the die plate 5 may be obtained. Latches which also constitute audible signals are provided at opposite sides of the mounting and each consists of a leaf spring 42 extending longitudinally of the mounting. These leaf springs extend along the track bars 2l and are secured at their outer ends by certain of the rivets 23. The free inner end of each spring strip 42 extends over an opening 43 formed in the flange 2| of the track bar to which the spring is secured, and upon referring to Figure 6, it will be seen that the free end of each spring bears against a metal ball 44 which fits within the opening 43 and is pressed downwardly by the spring so that it will be forced into the pockets or seats 45 formed in the marginal portions of the base plate 25 as the carriage is shifted longitudinally and the seats or pockets successively moved into position under the openings 43. The balls move along the side edge portions of the base plate from one pocket to another as `the carriage is shifted longitudinally and as the springs force the balls downwardly into the pockets a clicking noise will be created and this will indicate distances which the carriage has been moved. It will thus be seen that the operator need not closely observe the scale at all times during setting of the carriage and the die plate 5 but may count the clicks as the stem I9 is turned and then make a final minute adjustment by observing the scale plate. The pockets at opposite sides of the carriage are preferably so arranged that the balls will alternately be forced into the companion sockets and since a ball at one side of the carriage will be moved into its socket while the ball at the other side of the carriage is being forced out of a socket the clicking noises caused by the two balls will be alternately created and twice the number of clicking noises will occur during a given movement of the carriage than would take place if the two balls entered the companion sockets at the same time.

When this die holder is in use, a die plate 5 is slid into engagement with the tracks 4 which will support it in iiat contacting engagement with the under face of the back plate 2 of the frame. During this operation the plunger may be drawn upwardly and so held until the die plate is thrust inwardly its full extent or the plunger may be only temporarily drawn upwardly and then released so that the pin will rest upon the die plate and enter the perforation 33 as soon as this perforation comes into place under the pin. When lthe pin is engaged in the perforation of the die plate, the pointer 39 will indicate the set position of the die plate and if the die plate is not in the proper position, it is merely necessary to turn the stem I9 and shift the carriage along the mounting until the pointer has been moved to the proper mark upon the scale plate. In View of the fact that the pin engages t-hrough the perforation of the die plate, the die plate will be moved with the carriage. When it is ydesired to withdraw the die plate, the plunger is grasped by its head or knob 35 and drawn upwardly to move the pin 3U out of the perforation in the die plate and the die plate may then be grasped and drawn outwardly from the frame, If a die plate is used having inner and outer sections, the inner section will be secured by the pins 9 of the latches 1 and the pin 30 will engage through a perforation formed in the outer section of the die plate. Therefore, the inner section of the die plate will be held stationary in the frame but the outer section may be adjusted when the stem I9 is turned.

Having thusl described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. In a die holder, a mounting to be carried by a .die holder frame and having a base plate and a ange, said mounting extending longitudinally of the holder, a carriage slidable along said base plate longitudinally thereof, a plunger slidably carried by said carriage, and having its lower end provided with a pin for engaging through a perforation in a die plate and detachably engaging the die plate, a bowed spring urging said plunger downwardly to a plateengaging position, and means extending through the flange and carriage for shifting said carriage along said mounting and holding the carriage in a set position.

2. In a die holder, a mounting carried by a die holder frame and including a base plate formed with a longitudinally extending slot registering with a slot formed in the frame, said base plate having a ilange, a carriage carried by said base plate and shiftable longitudinally thereof, a plunger slidably carried by said carriage and shiftable vertically, said plunger having its lower end formed with a pin extending I thereof, a carriage slidable along said mounting and having a block and a post spaced from the block longitudinally of the carriage, a plunger slidable vertically through the block and having a pin at it slower end for engaging through a die plate when the plunger is in a lowered position, a bowed spring extending longitudinally of the carriage with one end anchored to said post and its other end engaging said plunger, said spring yieldably resisting upward movement of the plunger, and means for shifting the carriage along said mounting.

4. In a die holder, a mounting to be carried by a die holder frame, a carriage shiftable along said mounting and having means for detachably engaging a die plate, seats mounted along said means, means for shifting the lcarriage, a ball latch carried by the mounting and selectively engageable in the seat and constituting audible signaling means for indicating movement of the carriage along the mounting, and resilient means fixed on the mounting and urging the ball latch toward -certain of the seats.

5. A die holder including means for slidably supporting a die, in combination with removable means for adjusting the die, said removable means including a frame, a carriage slidable on the frame, a plunger on the carriage for engaging th-e die, and means on the frame and engaging .the carriage for shifting said carriage on the frame.

RUPERT L. GREENLEAF. CHARLES R. DOUGHERTY. 

